Long-Term Housing

What is Long-Term Housing?

The Office of Homeless Services (OHS) and its network of nonprofit and public sector partners help persons experiencing homelessness make the transition to permanent housing, and follow up with provided services to maintain it.

Permanent supportive housing is long-term (not time limited), safe, and decent living arrangements linked to supportive services for homeless and disabled individuals and families. Philadelphia’s Continuum of Care Program (CoC) funds permanent supportive housing beds. View the 2019 Housing Inventory Count for a snapshot of Philadelphia’s homeless-dedicated housing inventory.

  • For families with children, rapid re-housing is available through the Emergency Solutions Grant and the CoC.
  • For persons experiencing chronic homelessness, we employ the “housing first” strategy which provides housing without barriers to entry.
  • For veterans experiencing homelessness, CoC funding supports the following projects: Veterans Home Project and Edison 64.
  • For persons experiencing homelessness who are living with behavioral health disabilities, we partner with the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services to offer permanent housing opportunities that are funded by the CoC and housing partners like PHA and affordable housing developers.
  • For youth, there are limited options for permanent supportive housing. OHS regularly reviews a by-name list of youth experiencing homelessness to connect them with opportunities and makes placements on a situational basis.

In response to COVID-19, the CEA-BHRS Prioritization Policy has been implemented to prevent the spread and protect the most vulnerable populations. These temporary changes will remain in effect until the Emergency Order Temporarily Prohibiting Operation of Non-Essential Businesses and Congregation of Persons to Prevent the Spread of 2019 Novel Coronavirus has been lifted.